Local Derby ends up 12-1 (agg) to Hitchin U9's

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U-9’s light up a grey day.

No post-tour hangover from the U-9’s this week, in fact I suggest moving the tour to September because some of our players come back more confident and stronger for the experience. Of course the adults as well!

This is probably best illustrated by Christopher who constantly tore into the Letchworth team like a boy possessed, a similar story I remember following last year’s tour.

Due to our talented regular correspondent blowing his own trumpet at Adams Park entertaining the good folk of Wasps & Sale this report is a combined effort from Amanda & Col “the ref”.(thanks guys, D)

A tad light on numbers due to the ½ term break however it does not seem to matter who turns out for the U-9’s as they all perform to the best of their ability with a high teamwork ethic. For the 1st game we started with a front row of Daniel, Aless & Big Ben, at scrum ½ an opportunity for George to shine with his clean teeth, fly half was Frazer with Eliza and Oliver Red Hat as the centres, Christopher on the wing and Captain Max as a roving full-back.

Frazer was keen from the off to take it to his Dad’s old team with some strong running and nearly scored from the k.o. only to be forced into touch 5m from the line. Letch made an early sub due to one player having no gum shield, thankfully our constant reminders seemed to have sunk into our players on that matter. More pressure on the Letch line from the Hedgehogs and from a scrum George picked up and drove in which allowed Aless to continue her excellent mauling ability to release Big Ben to go over for the 1st try of the day. 1-0 was soon to be followed by 2-0 and again good mauling from Aless secured ball for Eliza to scamper over for the 2nd.
Hitchin constantly looked to move the ball around however with it comes a risk and an interception by Letch was only thwarted by a cover tackle from Eliza. From the ensuing pressure however Letch scored to make it 2-1. George had an excellent chance to extend the lead but with the try line beckoning he knocked on over the line.
Some good hands again from the backs left Max to weave through a number of cover tackles for a top score, he is another to benefit from tour, his confidence at F-B was excellent.
From the restart some fine tackling by Daniel and driving over from Frazer released Oliver who continued his steady scoring this season for a half time lead of 4-1.
Letch started the 2nd ½ well but fierce tackling from Eliza, Aless and Ben took care of the threat. Christopher had the turbo on at various occasions and made huge inroads into the Letch defence however it was Frazer at fly half releasing the big runners and Daniel went over for a deserved try and 5-1. It was a better ½ from Letch with plenty of possession and their tackling improved however it was Eliza who took a feed from Frazer and capped a player of the match performance with a final try for 6-1.

The game was played in excellent spirit, I could ignore the light hearted jibes from the Letch coach with the knowledge that he was only a prop and what did they know about the game with their heads deep in mud for most of a season! It is worth knowing that the A team kept up their fabulous run of now14 games undefeated and continually excelled in the maul area and moved the ball well so everyone got plenty of ball.

Game 2 started with a front row of Josh, Lilian and Aaron, Eliza was SH and Ollie P at fly ½, Toby and Ashley were in the centre with Christopher on the wing and William at FB.
The Bees started where the Aaaa’s left off and took the game immediately to Letch, Eliza ran strongly for the first try and was soon followed by Christopher who was unstoppable for the 2nd. Good hands from Ollie P put Aaron away for another score. Whilst this was going on Ashley was tackling like a demon, his ability to get back on his feet and make another tackle immediately after the last is staggering. Lilian who has the tremendous knack for appearing in the right place at the right time popped up to release Christopher for his 2nd and 4-0 HT.
2nd half saw Frazer experimenting at scrum ½ however the team kept up there good display with Josh getting more involved and he used his strength to great effect both in mauls and in the loose. Then from a good run by Frazer a maul was set up and won back by Lilian who ripped the ball and set off down the blindside undetected for a cheeky score and 5-0. Ashley then managed to put in 3 consecutive tackles before anyone else could get near the oppo’s and from loose ball George fed Ollie P who put Josh in for a deserved try. 6-0 final score, another top effort and our local rivals went off up the Hitchin Rd with a 12-1 aggregate loss.

Training for the next two weeks (one,possibly with Budge Rodgers!?) as we head towards the last ¼ of the season.
It's Kitchen duty on the 4th too, so hope all you "volunteers" of the 'C' team, are ready.